Computer users today are able to access large amounts of information over the Internet and other networks. In order to obtain information over a network, computer users often utilize search engines, which are generally computer programs that are used to access databases of information in response to queries submitted by users.
Often, a computer user may wish to obtain information that is related to a particular geographical area or other physical location, known as a “location intent.” For example, a user may wish to obtain information regarding restaurants in Seattle, the location intent. In this case, a user might enter a query such as “Seattle Restaurant.” The search engine may recognize the term “Seattle” as a geographical area, and may thus return to the user a list of web pages for restaurants based in Seattle.
However, this technique suffers from several drawbacks. Depending on the information sought and the specific wording of the query, both false negatives and false positives are possible.
There are two types of search queries with location intent. One may contain an “explicit location,” where a geographical name presents in the query. For example, the term “Seattle” in the query “Seattle Restaurant” is an explicit location. However, a explicit location in a query may or may not be the actual location intent of the query. False positive cases may exist, wherein the explicit location in a query is not the location intent. For example, “Indiana” is the explicit location of the query “Indiana Jones” but it is not the location intent.
A second type of search query with location intent may contain an “implicit location.” Such a search query does not contain a location name at all in itself, but is nonetheless associated with a location intent. The query of “restaurant around Space Needle” is an example of a query with an implicit location, where the query does not explicitly contain any qualified geographical location name. However, this search query implies by the context that user is searching for restaurants in downtown Seattle by using the term “around Space Needle.” In the case of an implicit location, a search engine may provide incorrect results, such as, for example, by failing to identify the location intent. Continuing the example given above, because the search engine does not recognize a location name in the search query “restaurant around Space Needle,” the search engine does not recognize a location intent. This is an example of a false negative: a location intent in the query is ignored when generating search results.
An existing method of providing location-specific results determines the physical location of a user making a query, for example, by performing a reverse Internet Protocol (IP) lookup. The user's location is then used to generate location-specific search results. However, this method also suffers from drawbacks. In particular, search results are always based on the location of the user's computer. Thus, a user planning a vacation in another part of the country, performing general research, or simply searching for locations across town may not be provided with the desired results.
The “dominant location” of a query is one or more geographical locations associated with the query in collective human knowledge. A dominant location is, for example, a prominent location that is agreed upon by a majority of people who know the answer to the query.
If a query has a dominant location, it may be used as the location intent for that query. However, detecting a dominant location is difficult because it is a subjective and collective measure: it is the location existing in the collective human knowledge.